Turn of the Cycle
by myeloplax
Summary: Korra and Asami visit Republic City's spirit portal together for the last time.


**A/N:** You know you're obsessed with a ship when it becomes canon and your first thought is "I'm too happy, I need to write something really sad about these two." Also, I'm off school for a little while, so I'll try to get around to my other fics on here.

* * *

Republic City seemed to hold its collective breath as a small party gathered at its very heart - a brilliant pillar of spiraling golden light that pierced the heavens. Several very powerful and prolific people were in attendance: General Meelo as well as Masters Jinora, Ikki, and Kai; classic mover superstar Bolin and his wife, the elegant Opal Beifong, along with their children and grandchildren; Republic City's own retired Chief of Police, Mako, for once in a suit instead of his uniform; the brilliant inventors, the Varrick-Moon twins; and every single world leader, past and present, from the last 80 years. Their collective eyes were fixated on the two figures leading the group, marching in silence a respectful distance behind them.

Avatar Korra shuffled along, shoulders sagging with age but a powerful force still lingering in those aching bones. Her white hair was tied up in a formal Water Tribe bun and she was clad in the finest formal robes in the richest shade of navy her tribe could weave. Though her dark skin was spotted and hung looser on her face, a majority of her deep crinkles gathered in the corners of her eyes and cheeks – though just a little more heavily on one side of her mouth from a lopsided grin. They were laughter lines hard won through tears and sleepless nights. Blue eyes, clear and calm as a pond on a windless day, took in the splendor of the sprawling city and intertwining vines surrounding them before settling on their shining destination. Even in her old age, she walked proud and determinedly, though each footstep was now slow and deliberate.

At her side was ever-lovely lovely Asami Sato, CEO of Future Industries and a world icon in her own right. Time had treated her gently, evident in only a small collection of worry lines and too-many-late-nights-at-the-office lines lightly etched in her face. Her dark grey hair was still thick and cascaded in long, rolling waves past her shoulders. She too wore formal attire, Republic City style, in her signature red. Her body was slender and lithe despite her years, but today her bones felt brittler, her breath shorter, her joints stiffer. She pulled closer, pressing against Korra's side, her slightly longer stride slowed to match the white-haired Avatar's, as always.

They approached the beam, arms wrapped around each other's waists for support, when Korra stopped a few steps short of the portal. She stared straight ahead, somewhere far past the golden pillar and the flickering motes of light. After a long moment, she turned her head ever so slightly to look up at Asami's face, memorizing every last crease even though she had already known them for a lifetime. It broke her heart to see those glittering green eyes waver with pain she hadn't seen since her father had passed.

"You know I have to do this on my own," she whispered, words struggling to find their way out as she turned to fully face her. In turn, Asami held her hands, lacing their fingers together as if mere flesh could hold Korra there forever.

"I'm sorry to leave you, but you're not alone in this." She glanced sideways at the small gathering in attendance before slowly drawing them back home, where Asami's face was flickering with hidden doubts forced beneath the smooth surface of acceptance. "And I'll be waiting for you right on the other side, every day, until you're ready."

Asami could do nothing but cast her eyes down, hands beginning to tremble. Korra squeezed them tighter and leaned in. Their lips met in a final kiss, mouths desperately trying to convey the weight of every moment, every memory they had ever shared together. Asami would have kept them in that eternity had Korra not softly pulled away, breath brushing past red lipstick. They stared into each other's eyes with all of the tenderness and intensity their words could not say, knowing each other's greatest joys and deepest sorrows. Reluctantly, Asami let Korra's hands slip through hers.

Korra's eyes never left Asami's as she stepped backwards into the pillar. The light surrounded her; weight seeming to be lifted off her frail shoulders and light smoothing the wrinkles on her face. For one brief moment, Asami could have sworn she saw the same beautiful young woman with the fire in her veins that had held her hands when they first walked into the pillar all those years ago. Bright blue eyes narrowing to half crescents and a faint smile were the last things she saw before the warm light completely enveloped the Avatar.

For the first time in several decades Asami Sato openly wept.

* * *

In a small farming village on the outskirts of the Earth Union, a baby took its first, shuddering breaths and began to cry.


End file.
